Elected Mayor
A mayoral combined authority is a level 3 devolution deal and comes with the most powers and funding. It includes an elected mayor, who is a regional leader directly elected by the people. If the citizens don’t like them, they can vote them out.
A local elected mayor does not make independent decisions. Combined authorities must be local authority-led, so a mayor would not be able to act against the will of the 2 councils. An elected mayor would be the chair of the combined authority board, which would also include councillors from each local authority.
We have a mayor currently, however, a civic mayor is a ceremonial role that does not have decision-making powers. Combined authority mayors have a different role, working with the 2 councils to ensure devolution deals deliver for local people.
It is not expected that council tax would rise specifically because of the new Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA). It is true that the Mayor would be given powers to raise a charge on council tax, as is the case in other mayoral combined authorities around the country.
However, throughout the country, this power has rarely, if ever, been used. In fact, many mayoral candidates run on a platform or pledge of not making changes to Council Tax.
Accountability
The mayor in Hull and East Yorkshire will be chosen by the people living there, so will be directly accountable to them. An overview and scrutiny committee will check and review the mayor’s decisions and activities.
The Government has also set out an ‘accountability framework’ for all devolved authorities in England, to make sure that they are open and accountable to the communities that they serve.
Length of a mayoral term
The current Proposal is that there would be elections every 4 years.
The final decision on how frequently these would take place will be based on consultation feedback.
Where the mayor will be based
No discussions have taken place yet on the location of the mayor's offices. The government has provided £2 million to support the set-up and operation of the mayor’s office between 2024 and 2027, including the cost of running the first mayoral election.
Any decisions would be dependent on the results of the consultation and decisions made once a combined authority was established and mayor elected.
The earliest that this would be is in May 2025.